TANDY o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2003-12-01 published
'Curtain up, laugh, laugh, laugh, curtain down'
Versatile comic actor appeared in a string of hit revues, as
well as at the Shaw and Stratford festivals, in London and on
Broadway
By Allison
LAWLOR,
Special to The Globe and Mail Monday, December
1, 2003 - Page R7
At the mere mention of his name some people would just start
giggling. In fact, wherever the wonderfully comic actor Tom
KNEEBONE
went there was laughter. He loved not only to make other people
laugh but also to let out his own deep laugh, which Friends say
seemed to start in his gut and make its way up through his body,
gathering force as it went.
"Tom could make me laugh longer and harder than anyone else,"
said Gary KRAWFORD, a long-time friend who first worked with
him in the mid-1960s. "He was without a doubt the funniest man
I've ever met in my life."
Mr. KNEEBONE, who has been described by some critics as one of
the world's top cabaret performers, died in a Toronto hospital
on November 15 after suffering a heart attack and other complications.
He was 71.
The versatile performer appeared for many years at the Shaw Festival
and the Stratford Festival of Canada, where during the 1976 season
he played Puck opposite Jessica
TANDY in A Midsummer Night's
Dream. He also performed at London's Old Vic, the Charlottetown
Festival and
on Broadway. He was a guest with the Canadian Opera
Company and the National Ballet of Canada, a company he greatly
admired.
Toronto audiences may remember him best for the string of hit
revues he performed with Dinah
CHRISTIE, which included Ding
Dong at the Dell, The Apple Tree and
Oh Coward! "I was absolutely
in awe of the man," Ms.
CHRISTIE said, recalling the first time
they performed together 38 years ago.
They developed an enduring partnership that resulted in appearances
across the country performing everywhere from cabarets to big
concert halls with symphony orchestras. In Toronto, they performed
together at Massey Hall and Roy Thomson Hall. Over the years,
working with Mr.
KNEEBONE became like "working with kith and
kin," Ms. CHRISTIE said.
"We made each other laugh," she said, adding that they worked
so well together because they were complete opposites.
While Mr. KNEEBONE was happy living and working in the big city,
Ms. CHRISTIE feels more at home on her farm in rural Ontario
with her animals and open space.
Born in Auckland, New Zealand, on May 12, 1932, Mr.
KNEEBONE
later moved to England to study at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre
School. After graduation, he went with the company on a 1963
North
American tour. When the tour folded in New York, Mr.
KNEEBONE
went out looking for work. He travelled to Toronto and joined
the Crest Theatre Company, where he got a job performing in a
production of She Stoops to Conquer. He later starred with the
Canadian comic actor Barbara
HAMILTON in the hit revue That Hamilton
Woman. The road was paved for him after that and, as he was quoted
as saying, it was 40 years of "curtain up, laugh, laugh, laugh,
curtain down."
Over the years, several critics remarked on Mr.
KNEEBONE's unique
facial features. Walter
KERR in The New York Times once wrote:
"His eyes are all right, but I think his nose is crossed."
In Time magazine, comparisons were made between Mr.
KNEEBONE,
Pinocchio and Charlie Brown. "With leprechaun whimsy, and a pace
as assured as the Dominion Observatory Time Signal, his major
weapon is a wonderfully mobile face that he seems never to have
grown accustomed to. Small wonder," the writer wrote. "His features
might have been drawn by a child. Eyes like silver dollars, a
nose that wobbles to a Pinocchio point, and a mouth tight and
tiny as Charlie Brown's when he is sad."
The moment the sun came up in the morning, Mr.
KNEEBONE was up
and out of bed, opening his curtains and declaring: "Let's get
on with the show," his friend Doug
McCULLOUGH recalled. "You
cannot take the theatre out of Tom," Mr.
McCULLOUGH said. "Tom
was always on stage."
Mr. KNEEBONE was never without a story to tell, whether it was
a tale about the crazy person who gravitated to him on a Toronto
subway or a character he met while performing in a small town.
"Everything had a theatrical dimension," Mr.
McCULLOUGH said.
In recent years, Mr.
KNEEBONE turned his attention toward writing
and directing plays for the Smile Theatre Company. Once again
he and his long-time friend Ms.
CHRISTIE were collaborators.
Together they brought professional theatre to senior citizens'
homes, long-term care facilities and hospitals. Mr.
KNEEBONE
had been the company's artistic director since 1987.
Known for his extensive research, he spent hours combing through
books and old musical recordings at libraries and theatrical
museums collecting information to use in his productions. He
charmed all the librarians at Toronto's public libraries, Ms.
CHRISTIE said.
He loved the process of gathering Canada's little-known stories,
whether it was the tale of a war bride or the country's first
black doctor, and then bringing them to audiences. He also saw
it as a way to give something not only to people whose health
prevented them from getting to the theatre, but to the country
that has accepted him so warmly when he arrived.
Despite his writing and directing, he never stopped performing.
Just weeks before he died, Mr.
KNEEBONE and Ms.
CHRISTIE performed
some of Noël Coward material together for a benefit.
"He was one of the masters of Noël Coward," Mr. Krawford said.
In addition to his stage work, Mr.
KNEEBONE performed in film
and television, including the movies The Luck of Ginger Coffey
and The Housekeeper.
A proud Canadian, Mr.
KNEEBONE was honoured by his adopted country
with the Order of Ontario, and was named a Member of the Order
of Canada in October, 2002.
He leaves his cousin, Robert
GIBSON, in Australia.
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TANG o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2003-07-26 published
'She wore a smile all the time'
A nursing 'hero' cared for severe acute respiratory syndrome
victims, became one herself and died not knowing the fate of
her husband
By Allison
LAWLOR
Saturday,
July 26, 2003 - Page F10
'I don't think she worried about it," Michael
TANG says of his
mother. "She was very invincible."
But Tecla LIN knew the risks far better than most people. She
was among the first to volunteer when West Park Healthcare Centre,
where she was a part-time nurse, set up a special unit to treat
Toronto health-care workers stricken in the city's initial outbreak
of sudden acute respiratory syndrome.
It was dangerous duty, but she knew what to watch for -- especially
the high fever so closely associated with the mysterious disease.
So, whenever she went to sleep, a thermometer could be found
with the face creams and makeup on her bedside table.
Then, on April 4, she realized she had sudden acute respiratory
syndrome symptoms and immediately checked herself into Sunnybrook
and Women's College Health Sciences Centre.
"We didn't think much of it the first week or so," recalls Mr.
TANG, 32. "We remained optimistic."
But Ms. LIN's health started to deteriorate and soon she required
an oxygen mask. For three months she remained in hospital, and
"it got harder and harder for her to breathe," her son says.
Last month she was transferred to the William Osler Health Centre
in Etobicoke, where she died last Saturday morning at the age
of 58.
She probably knew the end was near. What she didn't know was
that Chi Sui
LIN, the husband she had infected, had passed away
just three weeks after she went into Sunnybrook.
Mr. TANG says he and his brother Wilson decided to keep their
stepfather's death from their mother, feeling she needed all
her strength to fight her own illness.
Born on December 18, 1944, in Hong Kong, Tecla Lai Yin
WONG was
the eldest of four children. Her father died while she was still
young, and she became largely responsible for supporting the
family.
"There was a great deal of obligation to help the family and
to help others," Mr.
TANG says.
After graduating from the Government School of Nursing, she began
her career in Kowloon, Hong Kong, in 1968, spending five years
as an operating-room nurse at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
In June, 1968, she married Augustine
TANG, the father of Wilson
and Michael. Five years later, the couple (who divorced in the
mid-1980s) brought their family to Canada, settling in Toronto
and opening a Chinese restaurant.
Ms. LIN worked in the struggling restaurant with her husband
but in 1977 landed a job at the Doctors Hospital, where she worked
there for more than 20 years. In that time, she became a specialist
in dealing with high-maintenance patients. She also went back
to school, to earn her nursing degree from Ryerson University
and to complete a certificate in critical-care nursing.
She started to work part-time at West Park Healthcare Centre
in October, 1999, mainly in the rehabilitation centre's respiratory-services
unit. She also worked part-time at the Toronto Rehabilitation
Institute, often on the night shift.
By working at night, she could spend the day doing the other
things that she enjoyed. She regularly went to the Chinese Community
Centre of Ontario in downtown Toronto with Mr.
LIN, whom she
had married after her divorce from Mr.
TANG in the mid-1980s.
"They were very devoted to each other," says Donald
CHEN, president
of the community centre, where Ms.
LIN became an executive director.
"The two of them would come in together and enjoy the company
of others."
Almost 20 years his wife's senior, Mr.
LIN had lived in Taiwan
before coming to Canada. He served in the air force, Mr.
CHEN
said, and went on to become a teacher and then the head of an
elementary school.
"We called him 'Principal,' " he said.
Mr. LIN was in his mid-70s when he died, and had long been retired.
His own children live in Taiwan, according to Mr.
TANG, who says
he was not close to his stepfather.
At the centre, Ms.
LIN organized such activities for the women
as tai chi, gardening and dancing. But she also had a passion
for mahjong, the popular Chinese tile game, often taking on some
of the seniors at the centre.
"She could play all night," Mr.
TANG said.
Friendly and outgoing, "she wore a smile all the time," Mr.
CHEN
says. "She was very sweet and very friendly," enjoyed the company
of others, and treated people at the centre as "sisters and mothers."
Mr. TANG agrees, saying: "She liked to chat."
She also liked to help. In March, she traded her part-time duties
in West Park's respiratory services for a full-time job in the
new sudden acute respiratory syndrome unit. Fourteen staff members
from Scarborough Hospital (Grace Division), the initial sudden
acute respiratory syndrome epicentre, had been infected and transferred
to the ward for treatment.
The caregivers managed to fight off the infection until last
month, when June, Nelia
LAROZA, 51, of North York General Hospital,
became the first nurse to die. Ms.
LIN was the second. Her death
brought the sudden acute respiratory syndrome fatalities in Canada
to 41, all in Ontario.
Colleagues at West Park Healthcare Centre are in mourning. Last
weekend, the hospital lowered its flag to half-mast, and later
issued a statement saying that Ms.
LIN, "like everyone else who
had worked to contain sudden acute respiratory syndrome and care
for patients under stressful and extreme circumstances, was considered
a hero."
Barbara WAHL, president of the Ontario Nurses' Association, says
that "I certainly heard outstanding things about her nursing
care. She was totally dedicated."
Her death, Ms.
WAHL adds, "is a terrible blow to her colleagues,"
and to her profession.
Those co-workers remember her compassion and generosity.
"Tecla provided a unique mix of skilled nursing and unwavering
compassion for her patients and fellow staff members," the statement
says. "Popular, hard working and beloved by many, she would even
sometimes bring lunch for her colleagues."
She was also, her son says, "known for her resilience and strength."
Even while confined to her hospital bed, she was trying to plan
a wedding -- Wilson, 34, is to be married in September. "She
was really looking forward to it," brother Michael says.
A private funeral service for family, Friends and invited guests
will be held at 10 a.m. on Tuesday at the Hong Kong Funeral Home,
located at 8088 Yonge Street, in Thornhill, Ontario
The public will be received at the funeral home tomorrow from
2 to 6 p.m. and Monday from 5 to 9 p.m.
Tomorrow afternoon at 3, the Chinese Community Centre, located
at 84 Augusta Ave., will conduct a special memorial service for
Mr. and Ms.
LIN, who leaves her mother, a sister and two brothers
in Hong Kong, as well as her sons.
Ms. LIN was an animal lover with two cats. Her family asks that
memorial donations be sent to the Toronto Humane Society.
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TANN o@ca.on.manitoulin.howland.little_current.manitoulin_expositor 2003-02-05 published
Vera Ilene
SHERING (née
WOOD)
In loving memory of Vera Ilene
SHERING who passed away peacefully at
the Royal Victoria Hospital, Barrie on Wednesday, January 29, 2003 in
her 78th year. Beloved wife of the late Joseph
ARMSTRONG and the
late Monty
SHERING.
Loving mother of Harold
ARMSTRONG and his wife
Lynne, Bill
ARMSTRONG and his wife
Linda,
Ken
ARMSTRONG and his wife
Andrea, Carolyn
SMURTHWAITE and her husband Norm, Marlene
WHEELER and
her husband Steve, Cathie Gould and her husband Jack. Dear grandma
of 11 grandchildren and four great grandchildren. Vera is survived
by her sisters Myrtle
WOOD,
Marie
TANN, Bernice
SLOSS, and Edith
BAYER and by her brother Lorne
WOOD.
Friends may call at the
Innisfil Funeral Home, 7910 Yonge street, (Stroud) on Saturday,
February 8th from 1: 00 pm until time of service at 3:00 pm.
Cremation. Words of comfort may be forwarded to the family at verashering@funeralhome.on.ca
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TANNER o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2003-02-01 published
Died
This
Day -- William Desmond
TAILOR/TAYLOR, 1922
Saturday, February 1, 2003, Page F11
Actor, filmmaker and soldier born William
DEANE-
TANNER in Carlow,
Ireland, on April 26, 1872; in 1890, immigrated to United States
in 1890; in 1908, deserted wife and family to appear in movies
in 1914, made his directorial debut with The Awakening, followed
by 40 more films; served as a captain in the Canadian Army during
the latter part of First World War; returned to filmmaking and
made 15 more films, including Captain Kidd, The Green Temptation
and Anne of Green Gables; found murdered in his Hollywood home
police complained a number of Hollywood personalities had visited
the scene to remove or tamper with evidence; investigation focused
on such stars as actresses Mabel
NORMAND and Mary Miles
MINTER
later accounts reported the film Community sought to avoid a
scandal that coincided with murder trial of actor Fatty
ARBUCKLE
crime never solved.
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TANNER o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2003-07-07 published
BOWRING
TANNER,
Dr.
Linda
Dr.
Linda▼
Bowring▼
TANNER died peacefully after a courageous battle
with cancer, on July 5, 2003, in Sarnia, Ontario. Linda was born
in Birmingham, England and immigrated to Canada in 1976 and was
committed to Palliative Care for 20 years. She is survived by
her husband Mike, daughters Sarah, Kate and Amy and mother Joan
BOWRING.
Messages of condolence and memories may be left at www.mckenzieblundy.com
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TANNER o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2003-10-01 published
Linda▲
Margaret
Bowring▲
TANNER
By Daphne BARTLETT
Wednesday,
October 1, 2003 - Page A22
Wife, mother, daughter, palliative-care specialist, friend. Born
April 19, 1948, in Birmingham, England. Died July 5 in Camlachie,
Ontario, of cancer, aged 55.
She saw herself as a very ordinary working mom, wife, and Christian,
living an unexceptional life. Well, let me tell you about this
ordinary woman. Her name was well chosen. Linda means beauty
and with that surely goes warmth, energy and radiance -- the
essentials of Linda
TANNER.
She was born at the height of the
post-war baby boom, and raised in a flat with her mom and grandparents.
She graduated from medical school, at a time when working-class
youth could, and married Mike, an engineer, in 1974. They worked
for a year in Africa, with Canadian University Services Organization,
before emigrating to Sarnia, Ontario
With three young daughters, she worked as a locum and in the
emergency department, but it was in the early 1980s that she
was to find her calling. Her vision, energy and wisdom were fundamental
in the founding of Sarnia's palliative care services, including
a residential hospice and out-patient cancer pain clinic. Under
her guidance, it was to become a model for many treatment centres
around the country. Her teaching, motivation and innovation in
the management of the terminally ill have affected countless
people within and beyond our own community. Recognition of this
came with the Dorothy Ley Award for excellence in palliative
care, and the naming of the palliative care wing in Sarnia in
Linda's honour.
The shock came with the pathology report, which identified a
leiomyosarcoma -- a rare but vicious cancer with a 5 per cent
survival rate. After further treatments, a scan revealed that
she was not to be part of that 5 per cent. Linda knew better
than anyone the challenges ahead. The person who had reassured
and assuaged the fears of so many people and their loved ones
as they faced death, turned to Friends, family, and faith for
her own comfort.
Linda chose seven Friends to share this journey and in the last
months, four more joined us. For more than a year, a day with
Linda was on the calendars of "Linda's Ladies" as we took turns
to take her to various treatments, to work, maybe a pedicure
or shopping (a pack rat, she couldn't resist a bargain). Sometimes
we would have a day in her garden, where she knew the names of
all of the plants, and the people who had given them to her.
Perhaps a morning would be spent cleaning out a cupboard, but
nothing was ever thrown out. It was more a morning of inventory-taking,
and redistribution.
Afternoons were kept free for "her soaps" for she was a devotee
of Coronation Street and Emmerdale. She had a butterfly tattoo
on her thigh and a passion for red shoes. In the last week of
her life she ate, when she could, a diet solely of strawberries
and ice cream. "How decadent," she would say, with the widest
and naughtiest grin. These were days of Friendship and fun, days
of tears and fears, days of laughter, days of doubt and courage,
days of humility, discovery and learning. How enriched we have
been by her request to share this voyage.
Linda's love and respect for people was endless, never impatient
or judgmental; her humour wicked, but never unkind; her compassion
creative, never sentimental or bland. She is survived by her
husband Mike, her mother Joan, and three beautiful daughters:
Sarah, Kate and Amy.
This ordinary woman will continue to give us beautiful light,
she will continue to give us warmth, and she will continue to
give us strength. For she was a person of grace who showed us
how to live, and showed us how to die.
Daphne is Linda's friend and one of "Linda's Ladies."
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